Braids
by LadyLoki89
Summary: Imagine your daughter asking to braid Loki's hair. A cute one-shot originally written for a Loki Imagines blog.


**Braids**

(A/N: This was originally written for a Loki Imagines blog, and the imagine I picked to write from was, "Imagine your daughter asking to braid Loki's hair." A cute little one-shot with a side of feels. I don't own anything from the Thor universe. Enjoy!)

"Harley, sweetheart, c'mon! We have to get you dressed."

I stumbled on a doll as I took a step into the messy bedroom, and sighed, looking around at all the toys littered around. "You're lucky the ball's tonight or else I'd make you clean this mess!" My eyes came to a stop at the large wooden doll house, and from behind it, the little five year-old poked her head out.

"I don't want to go, mommy," she whined. "I want to keep playing."

"I know," I said, stepping over to her with a smile. "But then you'd miss out on all the fun."

"Like what?" she asked, cocking her head curiously.

"Like all the dancing, and you'll get to dress up all pretty… you like dressing up don't you?"

"Like a princess?" she asked, jumping up with an excited smile.

"Just like a princess," I answered.

"Okay." I put my hand on her back and lead her to her wardrobe, stopping when I caught a glimpse of the tall figure standing in the doorway.

"There are servants who can assist you with that, you know," Loki said, glancing down at Harley who instinctively shied away behind me. He frowned at her and I couldn't help but feel bad. It had been six months since our wedding, but my daughter didn't seem to be warming up to him. Her biological father had not been in the picture since the day she was born and was nothing more than a monthly check in the mail. In all honesty, it was better that way.

Loki and I had waited a year after becoming engaged to get married in order to prepare Harley for the departure to Asgard, and while I still felt it had helped make the transition easier, it didn't change the fact that she still grew very shy around Loki.

"I know," I said, reaching behind myself to rub Harley's back. "But I've got it. Really. We like dressing up, don't we, Harley?" She nodded with a smile but didn't look at him. He strode over to me and placed a warm kiss on my cheek.

"Don't be long," he whispered, then headed towards our chambers to get himself ready.

I opened Harley's wardrobe and looked over the many elegant dresses she'd accumulated since we'd arrived. Reaching towards the back, I pulled one forward that I'd been saving for the occasion. It was a little dark green dress with black trim and a golden knotted belt that came around the waist. I held it up for Harley to see and asked, "How about this one?"

"Oooo!" was the answer I received and I signaled her to follow me to the mirror where I began to dress her as I spoke to her.

"You seem to like all your new toys. Especially that doll house."

"Yeah!" she said with a nod as I pulled the outfit she was wearing off.

"Do you like it here then?" She didn't answer and I slipped the new dress over her head. "I know it's different, and probably difficult for you… but sometimes we have to make changes we don't like."

"I know, Mommy," she said while I laced her up.

"Just look at it this way. You get to live in a big palace and wear lots of pretty dresses, and you get all these toys to play with… that's pretty cool isn't it?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile. I adjusted her dress until I was satisfied with it, then picked up the brush for her hair.

"Now then… how do we want our hair today?" I asked as I began to work out the snarls.

"Braids!" she said eagerly.

"Braids? How many braids should we do? Do we want one? Or three?" She giggled while I parted her hair. "How about a hundred? They can be all over the place!"

"Mommy!" she laughed and I chuckled.

"Just two then?"

"Yes! French braids!"

"Oooo fancy. Why don't you get some hair ties then." She ran to her little vanity and pulled up a fist full of multicolored ties and ran back to me, holding them up. "I only need two, you goof!" I teased her as I took two from her hand, and she slid the rest on her wrist. I tied off half of her hair out of the way and began to work on the left. In the mirror, I saw Loki return, standing in the doorway completely dressed already and watching while I worked on Harley's hair.

"Did Loki buy me this dress for me, Mommy?" she asked and I shook my head.

"I think someone in the palace made it for you, sweetie," I answered.

"Oh." I pulled a lock a little too tight and she flinched. "Ow!"

"Sorry!" I loosened it and continued working. "What do you think of him, honey?" She didn't answer but I pressed on. "You seem so shy around him. Don't you like him?"

"I do," she said. "But I don't think he likes me."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know. He never wants to play with me."

"Well he's busy, sweetie. You know he has a lot of work to do here, don't you?"

"I guess." I finished the braid and moved to the other side when she pulled away. "Wait!" she stepped over to her bed and picked up a doll, running back over to me. "I wanna braid with you, mommy."

"Okay, sweetie. Remember how I showed you? Three locks…"

"I know, Mommy." She began to braid her doll and I started the second braid. "Is he my daddy now?" she asked. I glanced up at Loki's reflection, but he wasn't looking back at me. His eyes were on her.

"Do you want him to be?" I asked her.

"I've never had a daddy."

"I know," I said, looking away from Loki and back at her. "You know… he's never had a daughter. It'd be something new for both of you."

"I can be a good daughter." I laughed and nodded.

"I know you can. You can also be a real pain in the butt too."

"Nah-uh!"

"Yah-huh." I finished the braid and she held up her doll to show me the one she'd made. "Very pretty. You're getting pretty good at that." I began to work on my own hair, in front of her mirror while she hopped onto her bed to play with her doll.

"Does he want to be my daddy?" she asked after a minute. I smiled, thinking of the paperwork that had been sitting tucked away in a desk. I'd brought it up before the wedding, but Loki had insisted we wait until after the move and after Harley had warmed up to him. Knowing adoption was a sensitive topic for him, I didn't argue.

"He does," I told her, beginning to tie my hair up in a bun. "But only if you want him to."

"Maaaybe…" She looked up from her doll and asked a question I wasn't expecting. "Can I braid Loki's hair?"

I couldn't hold back the laugh and I looked at her in surprise. "What?"

"You said I was good. I want to make him look good for the ball." I looked back up to the mirror and saw his reflection staring at me, grinning in amusement and clearly trying to hold back a laugh. His hair was a few inches past his shoulders, so I could see why Harley would think it would be prefect to braid with, but I still shook my head.

"No, honey," I answered. "You can't braid his hair."

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because he's a boy. He doesn't want to have braids in his hair."

"Thor has braids in his hair sometimes and he's a boy," she said, gesturing to the sides of her head. "Small ones right here." I tried to picture it in my head and soon remembered what she was talking about.

"Well that's different," I said. "You know what though, I'm pretty sure his servants already did his hair for him. But maybe next time if you ask him nicely…"

I finished tying my hair back and turned to her. "Mommy's going to go put her dress on now. You stay here okay? And don't mess up your hair."

"I won't."

I turned and headed towards the door, expecting Loki to follow me. But after a few steps I realized he was still standing there, and I turned to see him step into Harley's room. I knew I needed to get ready as I was already close to making us late, but curiosity got the better of me, and I quietly sneaked back to the doorway to peak in.

Loki approached Harley, and she looked up at him, her smile fading. "I couldn't help overhearing," Loki began, kneeling down at the bedside so he was at eye-level with her. "And you know… I think I'd like a braid. But only its done by the best. Are you the best?"

"Yeah I am!" she said with a big smile and I grinned.

"Well then, perhaps you could braid this for me?" He turned his back to her and reached behind his head. The top layer of his hair had already been brushed and tied back while the rest hung perfectly strait and draped over his shoulders. He held up the portion that had been tied back, and Harley reached out, taking it in her hands and separating it into three parts.

When she finished, she pulled a bright pink hair tie off her wrist to tie it off and smiled, clearly pleased with herself. "All done!" Loki stood up and stepped in front of her mirror, turning his head to the side to inspect her work. The single braid hung down over top the rest of his hair and he gave an approving nod, smiling as he looked back at her.

"Perfect," he said. "And now I can tell everyone I had my hair styled by a princess." Harley smiled widely and I turned, heading back to my chambers with a smile on my face.

At the ball, anyone who inquired about the bright pink tie in Loki's hair was simply told he'd had it done by a talented princess, and my daughter's face beamed with pride all through the night.


End file.
